Perhaps the two most successful and popular email programs, Gmail and Outlook are often viewed as completely different. Gmail initially served primarily personal email, while Outlook served primarily businesses. But Gmail and Outlook can work together. Let’s see how to do it by configuring Gmail IMAP settings in Outlook
Why use IMAP for Gmail instead of POP?
If you understand the detailed differences between IMAP and POP email protocols, you probably already know your answer. For the rest, here’s a quick overview of the two.
IMAP (Internet Message Access Protocol) works with e-mail directly on the server that hosts it. In the case of Gmail IMAP settings, these are Google’s Gmail servers. POP (Post Office Protocol) downloads an email to your device and you work with it locally. When the email is on your device, it is no longer on the server.
If you have multiple devices to access email, such as an iPhone or Android, you don’t need to have all your email on one device. You want to take it with you wherever you go. This is why IMAP is used more often than POP. That is why we are going to show you how to configure Gmail IMAP settings in Outlook and not worry about POP settings.
Enable Gmail to use IMAP
For this to work, your Gmail account must have IMAP enabled.
- Sign in to your Gmail account and click the Settings icon in the upper right corner. It looks like a gear. The quick settings panel will open.
- Click View All Settings.
- On the Settings screen, click the Forwarding & POP / IMAP tab.
- Scroll down to the “IMAP Access:” section and select “Enable IMAP”.
- Scroll down and click the Save Changes button in the lower right corner.
How to set up Gmail IMAP settings in Outlook desktop app
It used to be difficult to add anything other than Microsoft Exchange email accounts to Outlook I had to look for different server settings and enter them manually. It’s much easier in the newest version of Outlook
– /
- Open Outlook If this is your first time opening Outlook, skip to step 4. If you are adding your Gmail account as a second account in Outlook, continue.
- Click the File tab in the upper left corner.
- On the Account Information page, click Add Account.
- It will now ask for your Gmail password. Enter it and click “Login”.
- The next window tells you how Outlook will access your Gmail and Google accounts. If you agree with this, click “Allow”.
- The focus will move back to the Outlook window, showing that your Gmail IMAP account has been successfully added. Click Finish to finish.
Sorry, we were unable to log you into Google – IMAP
While the instructions above should work automatically and without error, sometimes it doesn’t. You may receive the error message: “Sorry, we were unable to register you with Google – IMAP.” That’s when we need to dig into the Gmail IMAP settings in Outlook
- In Outlook, click the File tab in the upper left corner.
- Under Account Information, click Account Settings and then Server Settings.
- The IMAP Account Settings window will open with incoming mail settings. Make sure your settings match the following:
Username: your Gmail address
Server: imap.gmail.com
Port: 993
Encryption method: SSL / TLS
Require Secure Password Authentication (SPA) Login: UncheckedThis is highlighted below as this is the most likely reason for a broken connection.
- Expand the Outgoing Mail section and make sure the settings match the following, then click Next:
Server: smtp.gmail.com
Port: 465
Encryption method: SSL / TLS
Server timeouts: default usually ok. If you get timeouts, slide it to the right.
Require secure password verification (SPA) login: uncheckedThis is highlighted below because this is the most likely reason the connection is not working.
My outgoing (SMTP) server requires authentication: installed and select “Use the same settings as my incoming mail server”.
- An update window will appear briefly.
- A new Google window will open. It must be pre-filled with your email address. Make sure it is correct and click Next.
- In the window that opens:
- Enter your Gmail password.
- Make sure the Stay signed in check box is selected.
- Click “Login” to continue.
- If you have two-factor authentication (2FA) configured in Gmail and you must do so, Google will ask you to confirm this second method. If you want to use two-factor authentication every time you use Outlook for Gmail, clear the Do not ask me again on this computer check box. Otherwise, leave it checked.
- If everything went well, you will see the Account Updated Successfully window. Click Finish to finish.
Gmail IMAP is now set up in Outlook
That’s all. The whole process of configuring Gmail IMAP settings will take less than 5 minutes, whether it is the automatic account addition method or the server configuration. We hope this article helped you.
If you still have problems or something you don’t understand, let us know in the comments. We will try to help!
–